No Israeli Withdrawal Before End of Violence: SpokesmanIsrael said on Monday that it will not withdraw troops from Palestinian territories because the violence has not been stopped.Israeli troops "will remain where they are in order to protect their positions," Avi Pazner, spokesman of the Israeli delegation, told reporters. Pazner defended the Israeli stance as "logical, as long as there is no cease-fire, as long as ...we are still facing violence." "The moment when we see, on the ground, the situation has returned to normal, there will also be, of course, a gesture from our side," he said, indicating that the Palestinians should take the initiative to control the violence. Israel's intransigence is one of the blocks to progress at the Mideast that is under way in the Egyptian Red Sea resort to thrash out bloodshed in the Palestinian territories. The clashes between Israeli forces and Palestinians that entered the 19th successive day Monday and are still raging on in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have claimed over 100 lives, mostly Palestinians. The Mideast summit, hosted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, was the outgrowth of international diplomatic efforts to try to bring an end to the violence that has also endanger regional stability. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, the protagonists, U.S. President Bill Clinton, Jordanian King Abdullah II and U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan are presented at the meeting. Pazner, however, stressed that Barak came to Sharm el Sheikh to "do whatever is possible" to seek a cease-fire agreement in spite of the difficulties. "We have no deadlines. We will hold talks as long as there is hope. With God's help, we will achieve a cease-fire and an end to the violence. And then we can continue negotiations" with the Palestinians, he said. |
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